State Highpoints Numbers 21, 22 & 23:
PENNSYLVANIA (21)
Date: Sunday, September 5, 2004
Peak: Mount Davis
Height: 3213
Vertical Climb: 0 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 0 miles
Peak Class: #1
Height Rank: #45 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #33 of 50
In September of 2004 I was working in Philadelphia and took a week vacation after the job ended. During that week I visited the Liberty Bell, Valley Forge, Harper's Ferry, Gettysburg, and all the usual tourist places. On my last Sunday, however, I was able to ascend three state high points in one day--the only location in the United States where it is r
easonably possible to do so. The first was Mount Davis in Pennsylvania and the night before I had to deal with what must have been five families of Mexicans in one room while they partied outside and stomped on the floor above me until well after midnight. I finally got to sleep and then woke around 4:30 and a television somewhere around me was blaring and I never did go back to sleep. Coupled with the fact I had done a lot of hiking the day before I was really tired and drowsy when I checked out of the hotel.
Left the hotel around 9:00 and drove through mountains in fairly heavy fog along I-70 and exited at Somerset and took Hwy 219 south. Hwy 219 would lead me to three state high points today.
The highway was two-lane blacktop and the drive consisted of very old farms with stone or red brick houses and barns. I saw several Amish buggies on the road and stopped briefly at the Burkholder Covered Bridge that was built in 1870 across the Buffalo River. It was a typical New England red covered bridge built on two wooden arches.
Continued south through Berlin with it’s antebellum brick homes through Meyersdale with one-lane underpasses and manicured farms.
At one point I passed by a large group of Amish buggies and think it was probably a Sunday church meeting.
I easily found Mount Davis, the Pennsylvania highpoint, which was very well marked and a good thing since it required winding around up the side of the mountain on several small, basically unmarked roads.
I stopped briefly by the picnic grounds then hiked the trail to the Baughman Rocks—an unusual geological formation where the ill-tempered Mr. Baughman threw one of his sons to his death.
On that cheerful note, I drove on up to base of the tower and viewed the several large bronze tablets describing the history of the area. After taking some photos I climbed the 50-foot fire tower and viewed the mostly foggy countryside around the mountain.
It was very cool that morning and especially windy at the top of the tower. There was a bronze relief map and I spent several minutes meditating and viewing the scenery before heading back down. At the parking lot, another car pulled in and a family with two sons unloaded mountain bikes and started toward the highpoint.
I drove the winding roads back down—mostly guessing my way and stopped at a small church parking lot and asked directions to Salisbury. A really nice man suggested a shortcut which I took to the Interstate and it saved me considerable time and slow driving.
I took I-68 west and again picked up Hwy 219 south down through western Maryland. Again, the highway was very scenic but also very slow with winding turns. I drove through McHenry and Oakland beside the scenic Deep Creek Lake and saw a lot of kayaking and white-water rafting signs.
MARYLAND (22)
Date: Sunday, September 5, 2004
Peak: Backbone Mountain
Height: 3360
Vertical Climb: 7500 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 2.2 miles
Peak Class: #3
Height Rank: #22 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #32 of 50
Hwy 219 slips into West Virginia near Silver Lake and I almost missed the logging road except for two cars parked. From West Virginia, I hiked 2.2 miles over to the Maryland highpoint side--the only state high point where access is only possible from another neighboring state. A local group of Highpointers has marked the trail which could be very confusing with all the old logging cutoffs. I passed a couple coming back down and later met a family of five who asked me about my Highpointer tee-shirt. This was their fifth highpoint and the two kids were obviously excited about it. They asked me all kinds of questions about other highpoints before I continued climbing. It surprised me later that it was a category 3 climb and it did have me breathing heavily. The top was absolutely stunning with a panoramic view out to one side through the trees. About 100 yards before the highpoint there is a 19
10 cement marker delineating the WV/MD state boundary. At the highpoint, people have created an elaborate stone cairn and I added my pebble to it. The Highpointers have set up a mailbox with a register and a packet of certificates. This was my 22nd highpoint.
After spending some time I headed back down and about half-way started hearing the sounds of paintball guns. I passed a group of about ten kids and a couple of them pointed their guns at me and said something to themselves but nobody shot at me. The rest of the trail down was trashed with paintball pellets and splotches on rocks. It was an ugly end to a beautiful trip.
I ate a snack in the car and continued on Hwy 219 and caught US 33 to Franklin, WV. It was still very mountainous—the Allegheny Mountains—and scenic but slow driving. The trees were just beginning to turn color but were still predominantly green and summery. It made me think several times of John Denver’s “Country Roads.”
I
stopped in Thomas, WV at a café called the Purple Fiddle. It was an old country store converted into a new-age health food restaurant. I ordered a non-health-food ham and cheese sandwich and checked the place out. They had one section converted into a small stage surrounded with old church pews where local bluegrass bands could play in the evenings. The place was really busy and they misplaced my order and I ended up spending nearly an hour there but they were nice about it and gave me a free dessert and I wasn’t in a really big hurry anyway. It was a very warm and friendly place and I enjoyed the experience.
Outside, I noticed a couple of fire hydrants with about 4-foot rods and red metal flags on top. I realized they were to signal firefighters where the hydrants were in deep snow. I wouldn’t want to live here in winter.
WEST VIRGINIA (23)
Date: Sunday, September 5, 2004
Peak: Spruce Knob
Height: 4863
Vertical Climb: 20 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 0.4 miles
Peak Class: #1
Height Rank: #34 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #24 of 50
I drove through Brandywine and Franklin where I found the well-marked signs to the WV highpoint—Spruce Knob. The gravel road to the summit was well-maintained but very narrow and had steep drop-offs down the side of the mountain and I had to slow several times to let oncoming vehicles by.
There was a parking lot at the summit with about thirty cars. It was actually cold and very windy and many of the people were putting on sweats before the short hike to the top.
The path went past several trees growing on just one side and the wind was blowing pretty hard as I walked. A sign announced the temperatures can drop to 20 degrees below zer
o and the winds can blow over 100 MPH in the winters.
At the top, I climbed the stone observation tower and met the first couple I had seen coming down the Maryland highpoint--the couple with the three kids starting their high point collection. We talked briefly and I made the circular hike around the summit. It was very scenic and at one point there was a group of hang gliders camped but they weren’t jumping right then.
I drove back down and took Hwy 33 east into Virginia and caught I-81 north. Stopped and made reservations at the Hampton Inn in Winchester—the bad experience at Best Western the night before cured me of saving money on cheap hotels!
I got to the hotel after dark and ate a sandwich in the room, showered and went to bed early. Three highpoints in one day—I think this is the only place in the US where that can be done by automobile.
Date: Sunday, September 5, 2004
Peak: Mount Davis
Height: 3213
Vertical Climb: 0 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 0 miles
Peak Class: #1
Height Rank: #45 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #33 of 50
In September of 2004 I was working in Philadelphia and took a week vacation after the job ended. During that week I visited the Liberty Bell, Valley Forge, Harper's Ferry, Gettysburg, and all the usual tourist places. On my last Sunday, however, I was able to ascend three state high points in one day--the only location in the United States where it is r
easonably possible to do so. The first was Mount Davis in Pennsylvania and the night before I had to deal with what must have been five families of Mexicans in one room while they partied outside and stomped on the floor above me until well after midnight. I finally got to sleep and then woke around 4:30 and a television somewhere around me was blaring and I never did go back to sleep. Coupled with the fact I had done a lot of hiking the day before I was really tired and drowsy when I checked out of the hotel.Left the hotel around 9:00 and drove through mountains in fairly heavy fog along I-70 and exited at Somerset and took Hwy 219 south. Hwy 219 would lead me to three state high points today.
The highway was two-lane blacktop and the drive consisted of very old farms with stone or red brick houses and barns. I saw several Amish buggies on the road and stopped briefly at the Burkholder Covered Bridge that was built in 1870 across the Buffalo River. It was a typical New England red covered bridge built on two wooden arches.
Continued south through Berlin with it’s antebellum brick homes through Meyersdale with one-lane underpasses and manicured farms.
At one point I passed by a large group of Amish buggies and think it was probably a Sunday church meeting.
I easily found Mount Davis, the Pennsylvania highpoint, which was very well marked and a good thing since it required winding around up the side of the mountain on several small, basically unmarked roads.
I stopped briefly by the picnic grounds then hiked the trail to the Baughman Rocks—an unusual geological formation where the ill-tempered Mr. Baughman threw one of his sons to his death.
On that cheerful note, I drove on up to base of the tower and viewed the several large bronze tablets describing the history of the area. After taking some photos I climbed the 50-foot fire tower and viewed the mostly foggy countryside around the mountain.
It was very cool that morning and especially windy at the top of the tower. There was a bronze relief map and I spent several minutes meditating and viewing the scenery before heading back down. At the parking lot, another car pulled in and a family with two sons unloaded mountain bikes and started toward the highpoint.I drove the winding roads back down—mostly guessing my way and stopped at a small church parking lot and asked directions to Salisbury. A really nice man suggested a shortcut which I took to the Interstate and it saved me considerable time and slow driving.
I took I-68 west and again picked up Hwy 219 south down through western Maryland. Again, the highway was very scenic but also very slow with winding turns. I drove through McHenry and Oakland beside the scenic Deep Creek Lake and saw a lot of kayaking and white-water rafting signs.
MARYLAND (22)
Date: Sunday, September 5, 2004
Peak: Backbone Mountain
Height: 3360
Vertical Climb: 7500 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 2.2 miles
Peak Class: #3
Height Rank: #22 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #32 of 50
Hwy 219 slips into West Virginia near Silver Lake and I almost missed the logging road except for two cars parked. From West Virginia, I hiked 2.2 miles over to the Maryland highpoint side--the only state high point where access is only possible from another neighboring state. A local group of Highpointers has marked the trail which could be very confusing with all the old logging cutoffs. I passed a couple coming back down and later met a family of five who asked me about my Highpointer tee-shirt. This was their fifth highpoint and the two kids were obviously excited about it. They asked me all kinds of questions about other highpoints before I continued climbing. It surprised me later that it was a category 3 climb and it did have me breathing heavily. The top was absolutely stunning with a panoramic view out to one side through the trees. About 100 yards before the highpoint there is a 19
10 cement marker delineating the WV/MD state boundary. At the highpoint, people have created an elaborate stone cairn and I added my pebble to it. The Highpointers have set up a mailbox with a register and a packet of certificates. This was my 22nd highpoint.After spending some time I headed back down and about half-way started hearing the sounds of paintball guns. I passed a group of about ten kids and a couple of them pointed their guns at me and said something to themselves but nobody shot at me. The rest of the trail down was trashed with paintball pellets and splotches on rocks. It was an ugly end to a beautiful trip.
I ate a snack in the car and continued on Hwy 219 and caught US 33 to Franklin, WV. It was still very mountainous—the Allegheny Mountains—and scenic but slow driving. The trees were just beginning to turn color but were still predominantly green and summery. It made me think several times of John Denver’s “Country Roads.”
I
stopped in Thomas, WV at a café called the Purple Fiddle. It was an old country store converted into a new-age health food restaurant. I ordered a non-health-food ham and cheese sandwich and checked the place out. They had one section converted into a small stage surrounded with old church pews where local bluegrass bands could play in the evenings. The place was really busy and they misplaced my order and I ended up spending nearly an hour there but they were nice about it and gave me a free dessert and I wasn’t in a really big hurry anyway. It was a very warm and friendly place and I enjoyed the experience.Outside, I noticed a couple of fire hydrants with about 4-foot rods and red metal flags on top. I realized they were to signal firefighters where the hydrants were in deep snow. I wouldn’t want to live here in winter.
WEST VIRGINIA (23)
Date: Sunday, September 5, 2004
Peak: Spruce Knob
Height: 4863
Vertical Climb: 20 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 0.4 miles
Peak Class: #1
Height Rank: #34 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #24 of 50
I drove through Brandywine and Franklin where I found the well-marked signs to the WV highpoint—Spruce Knob. The gravel road to the summit was well-maintained but very narrow and had steep drop-offs down the side of the mountain and I had to slow several times to let oncoming vehicles by.
There was a parking lot at the summit with about thirty cars. It was actually cold and very windy and many of the people were putting on sweats before the short hike to the top.
The path went past several trees growing on just one side and the wind was blowing pretty hard as I walked. A sign announced the temperatures can drop to 20 degrees below zer
o and the winds can blow over 100 MPH in the winters.At the top, I climbed the stone observation tower and met the first couple I had seen coming down the Maryland highpoint--the couple with the three kids starting their high point collection. We talked briefly and I made the circular hike around the summit. It was very scenic and at one point there was a group of hang gliders camped but they weren’t jumping right then.
I drove back down and took Hwy 33 east into Virginia and caught I-81 north. Stopped and made reservations at the Hampton Inn in Winchester—the bad experience at Best Western the night before cured me of saving money on cheap hotels!
I got to the hotel after dark and ate a sandwich in the room, showered and went to bed early. Three highpoints in one day—I think this is the only place in the US where that can be done by automobile.
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